Endorse national carbon act

Last week Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch (Florida), Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) and Francis Rooney (Florida) introduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA). The bipartisan bill will reduce America’s emissions by 33 percent within 10 years and is a great opportunity for Congress to show leadership.

Personally, I volunteered for the Yes on Initiative 1631 campaign (a Washington state-wide carbon fee) this election cycle and was disappointed when it did not pass. However, I had friends on both sides of the spectrum opposing the initiative so I understood the hesitations.

The most common complaints I heard about 1631 was that it was convoluted to understand (an appointed committee decided how to divide the revenue; exceptions for large polluters) and low impact because it covered only Washington state.

EICDA is different. The revenue generated is entirely distributed equally among all Americans as a dividend check. That allows EICDA to be national in scope, revenue-neutral, simple to understand (no appointed committee), and progressive in nature. These factors should alleviate many of the concerns voters had about I-1631.

I hope the editors will take a hard look at the proposed bill and endorse it. More information online at https://energyinnovationact.org/.

Sincerely,

Steven Zhang

Mercer Island